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The Australian Computer Society will release its policy position
on migration "sometime in April", the organisation's chief
executive, Dennis Furini, said today.

He said the organisation was taking time to release the policy
because of its complex nature.

"When the policy is released, the ACS will be well positioned to
provide full commentary on this important topic. Any speculation
prior to the ACS finalising its policy position is unhelpful given
the complex nature of the topic under discussion," Furini said in a
statement released on his behalf yesterday, before he spoke to The
Age Online and The Sydney Morning Herald Online today.

Asked today whether an updated report, prepared by the reputed
labour market consultant Bob
Kinnaird, would be released along with its policy document,
Furini said no decision had yet been taken about this.

Kinnaird undertook a study for the ACS last year which found
that migrant IT workers were depriving Australian IT workers of
jobs. The report was never released by the ACS, according to a
report in the Australian Financial Review.

However, a copy was passed to the then communications minister
Daryl Williams and distributed to several government
departments.

In the statement, Furini said regarding last year's report: "The
ACS commissioned a report on offshoring, which it used to inform
its policy on offshore outsourcing. This policy was released in the
middle of 2004.

"There was a migration document which was an appendage to that
report. The ACS considered this a topic which was outside the terms
of reference for the offshore outsourcing policy. It also felt this
required separate consideration and called for a more substantial
and rigorous assessment of the topic. A more detailed report was
commissioned."

Asked about reports
which have claimed that the ACS is caught in a conflict of interest
because its president, Edward Mandla, is also in the recruitment
business, Furini said: "His business does not bring people in on
457 visas."

He refused to make any further comment on this topic, saying
"You should ask Mandla about this."